There is a circulating claim on WhatsApp that the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Bethrand Onuoha, has been transferred to another state. One of CDD’s trained “soldiers of mouth” in Kogi State spotted the claim and shared it for verification.
This claim is of concern because it comes at a time voters in Kogi State are counting down to Election Day. The Police has a pivotal role to play in ensuring the electoral terrain is safe and secure for voters to troop out and cast their ballots come November 11, 2023.
Onuoha was posted to the Kogi State Police Command in July 2023 as the 38th police commissioner of the state. During a pre-assessment visit to Kogi, the CDD team had the opportunity to meet with the police commissioner and conduct an interview with him.
Verification
To verify this claim, the CDD War Room reached out to the police Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the state, who confirmed that there is no official information from the Police top brass instructing the commissioner’s transfer. He advised that such news should be disregarded and provided information about the CP’s whereabouts. According to the PRO, the commissioner was attending a retreat for all commissioners of police in Nigeria, taking place in Imo State.
Can a CP be transferred during election?
The decision to transfer police commissioners in Nigeria falls under the authority of the Police Service Commission, in concert with the Inspector General of Police. In preparation for the 2019 elections, police commissioners across the 36 states were reassigned to different locations to “ensure efficient policing” during the elections. Similarly, for the 2023 general elections, additional police commissioners were deployed to various states, such as Kaduna, to bolster security measures and peacekeeping during the electioneering. However, in the case of Kogi, CDD War Room found no signal from the top hierarchy of the police indicating Onuoha had been transfered out of the state.
Verdict
False
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